Focused Ion Beam (FIB) devices such as the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) as well as FIB/SEMs have sparked great interest within the biological sciences in recent years. The HIM allows… Click to show full abstract
Focused Ion Beam (FIB) devices such as the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) as well as FIB/SEMs have sparked great interest within the biological sciences in recent years. The HIM allows high resolution imaging of uncoated non-conductive samples while the FIB/SEM (FIB/SEMs combine a focused ion beam with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)) allows to prepare TEM lamellae, 3D reconstruct the sample or reveal sub surface structures with nanometre precision. FIB/SEMs have become the “go to” tool in the materials sciences and semiconductor industry. Despite these unique capabilities, it is not yet fully established in the biological sciences [1-3]. This is predominantly due to the heat-induced damage from the ion beam when processing soft materials including biological samples.
               
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